Economic woes sharply reduce mobility of Americans
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Xinhua) — Due to economic woes like housing and jobs, Americans who changed residence in 2008 were reduced to 35.2 million, the lowest number since 1962, the U.S. Census Bureau has said.
Only 11.9 percent of Americans changed residence last year, down from 13.2 percent a year earlier, the bureau was quoted as saying by Thursday’s The New York Times.
Among those who changed their residence in 2008, the majority didn’t go far with 65 percent moving within the same county and 18percent moving in the same state.
Experts said the lack of mobility reflects economic instability on two fronts.
One is that Americans are now unable or unwilling to follow any job opportunities that may exist in other parts of the country.
The other is that the lack of mobility itself could affect the economy negatively and reduce economic activities.
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